Saturday 1 May 2010 09.58 EDT
First published on Saturday 1 May 2010 09.58 EDT

It took 60 seconds for Birmingham to carve out their first chance of the day, Lee Bowyer heading wide when he should have scored from all of six yards out. "That's why we're going down," came the chant from the away end. After yet another chipper performance blighted by less solidity at the back than a self-assembly flat-pack wardrobe, it is no wonder Burnley fans take refuge in self-deprecating humour.

By the time Brian Jensen's own goal gave Birmingham the lead – Cameron Jerome's wayward diving header pinballing between the Dane's legs before plopping, apologetically, over the line – they should have been two goals up, with Jerome guilty of heading over from close range and then being superbly denied by the goalkeeper.

City's second, five minutes before half-time, came when Roger Johnson, unchallenged, headed James McFadden's free-kick back across goal and Christian Benítez, also alone, chested the ball over the line. It was his first goal at St Andrew's and quite possibly his last if the Blues choose not to take up their £5m option on the on-loan Ecuadorian.

The frustration for Burnley is that, in the other half of the pitch, they look the Premier League part. Martin Paterson gave Grégory Vignal a torrid afternoon on the Birmingham left, while Steven Fletcher's clever movement regularly created space. The Scotland striker twice went close early in the second half, zipping one long-range effort just over the bar and stinging Joe Hart's palms with another. And, early in the second period, the home side were on the ropes.

The visitors, though, remained generous at the back. It took a superb tackle from Leon Cort to prevent Jerome running clean through on goal, while Sebastian Larsson volleyed wide after the Burnley back four were caught napping from a quick throw-in. With 17 minutes to go, Cort allowed a hopeful punt to drop over his head, but Benítez fluffed the chance.

At the other end, Burnley showed why they should retain some optimism for a promotion push next season, with Paterson unfortunate to see his pass roll across the face of goal after again jinking past Vignal. The visitors were then lucky not to damage their Fair Play rating when Danny Fox, already booked, escaped without censure after a shuddering tackle on Stuart Parnaby. He soon hobbled off and Birmingham also limped over the line, with Steven Thompson, played onside by the hapless Vignal, confidently beating Hart with five minutes to go.

City are now almost certain of securing ninth position, their highest league finish since 1958-59. "We were very keen to get over 50 points," said their manager, Alex McLeish. "And it was very important for us to sustain our home record. Our last [home] defeat was in September and we take that into the summer. Hopefully, we'll retain that aura next season."

THE FANS' PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

KEVIN CUMMINS, Observer reader It was a bit of an end-of-season game, really – quite open. We left space for Burnley to play football and they had chances to score in the first half. But we created our own chances, although our goals were quite scrappy, which goes against how we actually played. To be honest, it could have been a very much more comfortable victory; with slightly better finishing on our part, it could have been four or five. We put in a lot of effort today and everyone really contributed. There was a marvellous reception for the team at the end and, for once, nearly the whole stadium stayed for it.

TONY SCHOLES, ClaretsMad.co.uk It was good match, but it sums up our season – playing good football, but not scoring our chances. When you're struggling, you need to keep tight at the back and, unfortunately, that didn't happen today – as with our season. Brian Laws is a nice guy, but records don't lie. We are not a club that sacks managers willingly and we have a chairman that believes in our manager. He came in mid-season and it was difficult to change our style of play. He may not be the most popular man at the moment, but I think he deserves a chance next season. We'll win our final game against Spurs next week.